Device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance

ABSTRACT

A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance. An article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infused has a cylindrical exterior and a piston head on one end. A cylinder is slidable on said piston head and has an annular piston thereon in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to form an expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder when said article holder and cylinder are telescoped. The article holder has passages formed therein between the interior of said article holder and said expanding chamber. A dispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the article is to be infused is engaged with said article holder and opens into said article holder. The dispensing means is engaged by said cylinder and actuated when said article holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each other to expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within the interior of said article holder.

iJnited States Patent 1 1 96 69959 Marand 5] ,iano 25, 1972 [54] DEVIIQEFUR HNFUSHNG AN ARTICLE Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren WITH A GASEUIUSSIUBESTANEE Assistant ExaminerJ. F. Pitrelli Attorney-Wenderoth, Lind &Ponack [72] Inventor: Jean Marand, Norwalk, Conn. [73] Assignee: GeigyChemical Corporation, Greenburgh, [57] ABSTRACT A device for infusing anarticle with a gaseous substance. An [22] Filed: May 25, 1970 articleholder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article to be infusedhas a cylindrical exterior and a piston head [2]] Appl. No.: 410,052 onone end. A cylinder is slidable on said piston head and has an annularpiston thereon in sliding engagement with said cylindrical surface ofsaid article holder to form an expanding gggggg fi igg chamber betweensaid article holder and said cylinder when 58 5/00 said article holderand cylinder are telescoped. The article iFreIdotSearch ..131/133 R, 133A; 222/193,

222/4 H8 300. 401 19 holder has passages formed therein between theinterior of I l 0 said article holder and said expanding chamber. Adispensing means for dispensing a gaseous substance with which the arti-[56] References cued cle is to be infused is en a ed with said articleholder and g g UNITED STATES PATENTS opens into said article holder. Thedispensing means IS engaged by said cylinder and actuated when saidarticle holder 1,984,984 12/1934 Perry 13 1/133 R X and said cylinderhave been moved relative to each other to 3,527,388 9/1970 Cooprider..222/193 expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within2,333,049 /1943 Shapiro .131/133 R the interior of said article holder.3,101,905 8/1963 Hoenig.... ....222/193 X 3,506,158 4/1970 Duda ..222193 x 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS178,323 4/1954 Austria ..13l/133 R 23 25 24 O 61 w I V 1 7 27 x 2 8 64'V- -58 60%" g 57 4s- 1 29 4e f; 37

4st, 3s 4|- at 3 V 1" v 44,

-38 4O A 32 53-? F /39 s 34 54 V 56 f E 33 -51c.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an infusor device,and more particularly relates to an infusor device for infusing anarticle positioned within an article holder with a gaseous substance ormaterial dispensed from an aerosol type dispenser.

By gaseous substance or material" is meant either a gas, or an atomizedor finely divided substance, such as is dispensed from an aerosol typedispenser.

It is sometimes desired to infuse an article with a gaseous substanceand to carry out such infusion on individual articles. For example,individual cigarettes might be treated with a gaseous material, such asan aromatic material or a carcinogenic inhibiting material. The gaseousmaterial might be such that it is necessary to treat the cigarettes withit immediately prior to being smoked, rather than on a mass basis priorto their being packaged.

One easy way to apply gaseous substances is by means of aerosoldispensers. Many such substances are incompatible with the knownpropellants. However, there have recently been developed aerosoldispensers of the type in which the product to be dispensed is keptseparate from the propellant used to dispense the product until the timethe product is actually dispensed. Such dispensers have even beenminiaturized. The difficulty with using such device is, however, thatsimply spraying the article will not cause it to be infused with thesprayed material.

It is therefore desirable to have a simple device which can apply agaseous substance to an article in such a way that the article isinfused with the gaseous substance, which device utilizes an aerosoldispenser to supply the gaseous substance. Such a device should becompact, and yet should preferably automatically dispense the gaseousmaterial at the proper time during its operation.

OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object ofthe present invention to provide a compact yet simple device forinfusing an article, such as a cigarette, with a gaseous substance on anarticle by article ba- SIS.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a devicefor infusing such an article with a gaseous substance which incorporatesin it an aerosol type dispenser of the type in which the product and thepropellant are kept separate until the dispensing operation is carriedout.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a devicefor infusing such an article in which the dispensing is carried out inan automatic manner when the article has been subject to a vacuum.

These objects are achieved by the provision of a device comprised of anarticle holder adapted to hold an article to be infused, a telescopingcylinder piston arrangement which upon being telescoped applies a vacuumto the article, a dispenser associated with the article holder todischarge a gaseous material into the article holder, and means actuatedby the telescoping of the piston cylinder arrangement to actuate thedispenser to dispense material into the article holder. Preferably, thedispenser is the type in which the product to be dispensed is keptseparate from the propellant until the propellant is released todispense the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Other and further features of theinvention will become apparent from the following specification andclaims, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation view of the infusor device according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a modified embodiment of theinfusor device according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail ofthe embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. l, whichshows one embodiment, the infusor device has a hollow article holder 10,here shown as having a generally cylindrical exterior surface and agenerally cylindrical interior 10a of a size to hold a single cigaretteC. The surfaces need not be those of a right circular cylinder, but canbe any desired shape generated by a straight line moving parallel to theaxis of the article holder I0. The article holder 10 has a retainingledge 11 on the inside thereof against which the bottom end of thecigarette rests, and has a cover 12 with a cover actuator 13 extendingtherefrom pivoted on a pivot Id on an ear 15 attached to a coversupporting ring 16 threaded to the top of the article holder I0. Thecover I2 is adapted to rest in sealing engagement with the end of thearticle holder 10, and has a projection 112a extending into the interiorof the article holder and adapted to engage the article to hold itsposition in the article holder against the retaining ledge 11 so that itwill not move if it is subject to a stream of gas.

On the opposite end of the article holder from the cover 12 is a pistonhead 17 having a ring groove I5 in the outer periphery thereof and asealing ring 19 therein. Around the piston head 17 is a cylinder 20, theinterior of which is in sliding sealing engagement with the piston head17 and sealing ring 19. On the end of the cylinder 10 is an annularpiston 21 threaded into the end of the cylinder 20. On the innerperipheral surface thereof is a ring groove 22 with a sealing ring 23therein. The inner peripheral surface of the annular piston 21 and thesealing ring 23 are complementary in shape to and in sliding sealingengagement with the exterior surface of the article holder 110.

It will be seen that when the article holder 10 and the cylinder 20 aremoved relative to each other in a telescoping fashion, i.e., when thearticle holder is slid into the cylinder, an expanding chamber 24 isformed between the piston head 17 and the annular piston 21. It is thisexpanding chamber 24 which is used to supply a vacuum, as will beexplained hereinafter.

Passages 25 are formed in the article holder 10 which extend from theinterior thereof into the chamber 24. In this embodiment, the passages25 are adjacent the piston head 17 so that the passages are open to theexpanding chamber 24 as the chamber 24 is expanding during telescopingof the article holder 10 and the cylinder 20.

Means are also provided in this embodiment to cut off the communicationbetween the interior lltla of the article holder 10 and the expandingchamber 24. Valve bores 26 extend upwardly through the article holderll) on lines which intersect the passages 25, and slide valves 27 areslidably mounted in said valve bores. When the slide valves 27 are movedto the innermost positions in the valve bores 26, they extend across thepassages 25 and block them.

A dispenser receiving recess 28 is provided in the bottom of the articleholder 10 and is in communication with the interior of thearticleholder. The recess 28 is adapted to receiye in a snug fit thereinthe end of the dispensing means through which the material to be infusedinto the article is ejected. The dispensing means is of the type whichcan be actuated to carry out dispensing when it is appropriatelycontacted by the cylinder.

It is preferred that the dispensing means be an aerosol type dispenser,generally indicated at 29, of the type which dispen ses a stream ofgaseous material axially of the dispenser. The dispenser 29 ispositioned in the cylinder 20 and a flange 20a is provided for engagingunder the end of the dispenser to act as a stop when the unit isactuated. The end of the uppermost portion of the dispenser and therecess .28 should have complementary shapes, and the upper end of thedispenser should be such that the stream of gaseous material is ejectedat about the center of the recess. The slide valves 27 are preferablymounted on the end of the dispenser 29 so that when the dispenser ismoved toward the article holder 10 to dispense material, the valves willslide into bores 26.

While any appropriate aerosol type dispenser will be satisfactory, it ispreferred that a miniaturized so-called double aerosol dispenser beused. A preferred form of such a dispenser is shown in FIG. 1. Thedispenser is made up of a valve assembly, a propellant cartridge, aproduct containing sac, and a housing enclosing these elements.

The valve assembly is similar to that disclosed in US. Pat. applicationSer. No. 778,905 in the name of Marand, filed Oct. 15, 1968. It has avalve body 30 having a hollow interior 31 which opens out of the top ofthe valve body 30. A bore 32 extends downwardly from the hollow interior31 and opens into a downwardly open recess 33 in the bottom of the valvebody 30. Positioned in the downwardly open recess 33 is an annularobturating gasket 34.

A hollow valve stem 35 extends through the hollow interior 31 and has acylindrical portion 38 extending through the bore 32 and spaced onlyslightly therefrom, so that the surface defining the bore 32 forms aloose bearing for the valve stem 35. A conical head 36 is provided onthe bottom end of the stem 35, and between the cylindrical portion 38and the conical head 36 is a reduced diameter portion 39 in which theinner edge of the annular gasket 34 is tightly engaged.

The stem has a hollow bore 27 therein, and from the lower end of thebore 37 extend vertical passages 40 which open out of the stem in thereduced diameter portion 39. In the rest position of the stem, as shownin FIG. 1, in which the stem is in the raised position relative to thevalve body 30, the inner edge of the annular gasket 34 closes off orobturates the openings at the lower ends of the vertical passages 40.

The valve stem has a flange 41 thereon, and a return spring 43 ispositioned between the flange and the bottom of the hollow interior 31,and tends to urge the stem 35 in the upward direction. Finlikeprojections 44 are provided on the inner surface of the valve body 30and project into the hollow interior 3]. The upper ends of theprojections 44 are at a level such that they are abutted by the flange41 and act as stops for the downward movement of the stem 35.

On the exterior peripheral surface of the upper part of the stem 35above the flange 41 are a plurality of radially projecting ribs 45extending parallel to the axis of the stem, and defining between thempassages 46. At the lower ends of the ribs 45 and outwardly thereof onthe upper part of the flange 41 is a downwardly and outwardly taperedsurface 48. Engaged with this surface 48 is the inner portion of thedownwardly facing surface of a further annular obturating gasket 49 forobturating flow of the product. This gasket has the outer portion of thedownwardly facing surface engaged with the upper end of the valve body30, so that in the normal or rest position, as shown in FIG. 1, theannular gasket 49 closes off the top of the hollow interior 31 betweenthe stern and the valve body.

Extending downwardly from the hollow interior 31 on one side of thevalve body 30 is a product passage 53 which opens into a furtherdownwardly open recess 54in the bottom of the valve body.

A propellant cartridge 52 is provided which has a smaller diameter upperportion 52a, the upper end of which is engaged with the lower surface ofthe annular obturating gasket 34. The upper end of the upper portion 52ais thus closed by the gasket 34 and the conical head 36 extendingthrough the gasket. The propellant cartridge 52 further has a largerdiameter lower portion 52b, the outside diameter of which is preferablyabout the same as the outside diameter of the valve body 30.

There is defined between the larger diameter lower portion 52b of thepropellant cartridge and the lower end of the valve body 30 a recess,which in the present embodiment is an annular recess, in which ispositioned an annular flexible collapsible product containing sac 55.The product containing sac 55 has a discharge outlet 56 on the upper endthereof which extends upwardly and into sealing engagement with thevalve body in the recess 54 into which the product passage 53 opens.

Surrounding the above-described parts and holding them in the describedrelationship is a housing 50, which in this embodiment has bottom flange51a flanged over the propellant cartridge, and has top flange 51bflanged over the upper surface of the further annular gasket 49. Anindent 510 is provided in the outer peripheral wall of the housing 50,which extends inwardly under the bottom surface of the valve body 30 soas to tightly clamp the valve body 30 and the annular gasket 49together. The housing 50 has openings in the outer peripheral wallthereof to admit air to the annular recess in which is positioned theproduct containing sac 55.

The valve stem 35 has an upper cylindrical portion 57 which is integralwith the outer edges of the ribs 45, and which extends upwardly beyondthe end of the portion of the valve stem 35 having the hollow bore 37therein, so as to fit snugly in recess 28 in article holder 10. Theinterior of the upper cylindrical portion 57 defines a larger upwardlyopening recess 58 at the upper end of the valve stem 35. In the upperportion of the valve stem within the upper cylindrical portion 57 is asmaller upwardly opening recess 58a into which is fitted a nozzle insertgenerally indicated at 59. The nozzle insert has a Venturi portion 60which has the lower portion fitted into the recess 58a. The Venturiportion 60 is longer than the recess 58a is deep so that the Venturiportion extends beyond the outer end of the recess 58a. The nozzleinsert has a larger diameter portion 61 on the upper end thereof, theouter diameter of which is such as to fit tightly within the upwardlyopening recess 58. This portion 61 defines with the upper ends of theribs 45 a product supply chamber 64. The Venturi nozzle insert has aVenturi nozzle 60a therein, with radial product passages 62 opening intoit through the Venturi portion 60 from the product supply chamber 64.

in the position of the parts as shown in FIG. 1, the bore 37 in the stemis sealed off from the interior of the propellant cartridge 52 by theobturating gasket 34, which completely seals off the vertical passages40. In addition, the hollow interior 31 is sealed off from the passages46 between the ribs 45 along the outside of the upper portion of thestem 35 by the gasket 49 and its sealing engagement with the taperedsurface 48 on the upper part of flange 41 and with the upper end of thevalve body 30 around the hollow interior 31.

Upon relative movement of the propellant cartridge 52 and the valve stem35 toward each other, which is brought about by exerting pressure on thebottom of the larger diameter lower portion 5 la of the housing 50 andthe upper end of hollow stem 35, the hollow stem 35 moves downwardlythrough the hollow interior 31, two actions take place. One of these isthe flexing downwardly of the obturating gasket 34 so that the uppersurface around the hole therethrough is engaged by the downwardly andinwardly tapered surface leading to the reduced diameter portion 39. Theinner periphery of the obturating gasket 34 is moved away from the lowerends of vertical passages 40, thus opening a propellant flow path fromthe interior of propellant cartridge 52 through the bore 37 to theVenturi nozzle 6].

Depending on the exact construction of the embodiment, slightly beforeor after the opening of the passages 40, the downward flexing of theannular gasket 49 proceeds to a point such that the downwardly andinwardly tapered portion of the lower end of the upper cylindricalportion 57 engages the upper surface of annular gasket 49, and the innerperiphery of the gasket 49 moves away from the tapered surface 48 on theupper part of flange 41. This establishes an opening between the hollowinterior 31 and the passages 46, and a product flow path from theinterior of the product containing sac 55 through the product passage53, the hollow interior 31 and the passages 46 and product supplychamber 64 is sealed off from the atmosphere. The reduced pressure inthe Venturi nozzle 61 is thus communicated to this flow path through theradial product passages 62, and the product to be dispensed is aspiratedfrom the product containing sac 55.

As the product is aspirated from the product containing sac, the sacwill collapse under the effect of the pressure of the atmosphere aroundthe dispensing device, which acts on the sac 55 through the openings inthe housing 50.

Release of the force moving the hollow stem 35 inwards relative to thepropellant cartridge 52 enables the return spring 43 to move the hollowstem 35 in the opposite direction, thereby returning the parts to theposition shown in FIG. ll.

It will be understood that the relative movement of the stem 35 inwardlyof the propellant cartridge is limited by the engagement of flange 41with the projections 44 in the hollow interior, and that movement of thestem 35 in the opposite direction is limited by the engagement of theflange 41 with the gasket 49, which in turn is restrained by the topflange 5llb on the housing 50.

In operation, with the parts of the device in the positions shown inFIG. I, and with a cigarette C having been positioned in the interiorltla of the article holder l0 and the cover 12 closed, the articleholder and the cylinder 20 are telescoped. During the relative movementbetween them, the chamber 24!- expands. This causes the air in theinterior lltla to be drawn through the passages 25 so that a vacuum isproduced in the interior 10a and the expanded chamber 2d. The movementcontinues until the flange 20a on the bottom of the cylinder 20 abutsthe bottom of the housing 50, at which time the annular piston 21 isnear the top of the article holder 10. Further movement of the articleholder 10 and the cylinder 2t) toward each other causes the valve stem35 to be moved toward the propellant cartridge 52, causing dispensing ofthe product to be dispensed from the dispenser 29. At the same time, theslide valves 27 are moved into the valve bores 26 to bloclt the passages25. Thus, the material dispensed flows into the interior ltla of thearticle holder, which is under a vacuum, and the cigarette is infusedwith the gaseous material from the dispenser.

The movement of the parts of the device toward each other is easilybrought about by exerting finger pressure on the opposite ends of thedevice, and the movement will be stopped automatically when the flangeAll on the valve stem 35 abuts the projections dd. Release of the fingerpressure enables the spring 43 to return the valve stem 35 to the restposition. The cover 12 can then be opened and the cigarette removed.This will restore the interior 10a to atmospheric pressure, which willenable the telescoped parts to be drawn apart to the FIG. ll positionsagain.

When the dispenser 29 is empty, it can easily be replaced by simplyunscrewing the annular piston Zll and drawing the cylinder 20 off thepiston head 17. The exhausted dispenser 29 with the slide valve 27thereon is removed and a fresh dispenser with slide valves thereoninserted in its place. The cylinder 20 is replaced, and the annularpiston screwed into the end thereof and the device is again ready foroperation.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the passages between theinterior 10a of the article holder l0 and the expanding chamber 2d arelocated at the end of the article holder 10 which is remote from thepiston head 17, as shown at 26a. Thus, as the article holder 10 istelescoped into the cylinder 20, the vacuum in the expanding chamber 24increases, reaching a maximum just before the annular piston 21 passesthe openings 26a. By placing the openings 26a a distance above thepiston head 21, which is substantially the same as the distance betweenthe bottom of the dispenser 29 and the bottom of the cylinder 20 whenthe cylinder and article holder are in their extended positions, thebottom flange 20a on the cylinder 20 will engage the bottom of thedispenser 29 at about the time the annular piston 21 reaches theopenings 26a. Thus, the dispenser will be actuated to discharge thegaseous material at the time the openings 26a are placed incommunication with the expanding chamber 24. Thus, as the air is beingdrawn upward, in FIG. 2, through the interior ltla of the article holder10, the material to be infused is being discharged into the interiorlllla at the lower end, whereby the material to be infused is drawnthrough the article.

With this arrangement, in order to enable the article holder it) and thecylinder Ztl to be drawn apart, some way must be provided for ventingthe air which will be present in the expanding chamber 2d after theopenings 26:: have been opened. One simple way of accomplishing this isto provide vent openings 76 in the cylinder 20 just under the annularpiston 2ll, and to cover the outer ends of these openings with a flapvalve 71, here shown as an annular rubber band in a groove 21a. Duringexpansion of the expanding chamber 24, the rubber band will be drawntightly against the openings 70, preventing inflow of air, but while thechamber is being made smaller, the rubber band can stretch and allow airto flow out of the chamber 24L There has thus been provided an infusordevice which is compact and yet has a simple structure and utilizes anaerosol dispenser to supply the gaseous infusing material. The deviceacts automatically to provide a vacuum in the space for holding thearticle, and also acts to actuate the dispenser automatically when thevacuum is at a maximum. The dispenser can be easily replaced when it isexhausted, so that the device can be reused.

It will be understood that many modifications are possible in theconstruction and use of the device. The interior of the article holdercan be given a shape to hold any article which it is desired to infuse,so long as the shape of the exterior of the article holder is such thatthe annular piston 21 can slide therealong. Moreover, the dispenserdevice can be modified, for example to supply a measured dose of theinfusing material. Other modification within he scope of the inventionwill readily occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance, comprisingan article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article tobe infused, the exterior surface of said article holder beingcylindrical, a piston head on one end of said article holder, a cylinderslidable on said piston head and having an annular piston thereon having.an internal periphery complementary in shape to and in slidingengagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to forman expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder whensaid article holder and cylinder are telescoped, said article holderhaving passages formed therein between the interior of said articleholder and said expanding chamber, a dispensing means for dispensing agaseous substance with which the article is to be infused, saiddispensing means being actuable to carry out dispensing, said dispensingmeans being engaged with said article holder and opening into saidarticle holder and engaged by said cylinder and actuated when saidarticle holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each otherto expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within theinterior of said article holder.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensing means is anaerosol type dispenser having a movable valve stem, said stem beingengaged with said article holder and the remainder of said dispenserbeing engaged by said cylinder at the end of the cylinder movementrelative to the article holder to move the remainder of the dispenserrelative to the stem for causing the dispensing from the dispenser.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which said valve stem is movableaxially of said dispenser; and said dispenser is positioned within saidcylinder, said cylinder having means on the end thereof remote from thearticle holder for engaging the dispenser and moving it toward saidarticle holder relative to said valve stem at the end of the cylindermovement.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said cylinder is threadedonto said annular piston whereby it can be removed from said piston headfor replacement of said dispenser.

5. A device as claimed in claim I in which said passages between saidexpanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are adjacentsaid piston head, and valve means in said passages are actuated whensaid dispensing means is actuated for blocking of? said passages.

6. A device as claimed in claim in which said valve means is a valve rodslidable in said article holder, said valve rod projecting out of saidarticle holder and engageable by said dispensing means to be moved intosaid article holder when said dispensing means is actuated.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said passages between theexpanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are at the endof said article holder remote from said piston head and just at the endof the expanding chamber when said dispensing means is actuated, andsaid cylinder has one way valve means therein adjacent said annularpiston.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7 in which said cylinder has a pluralityof apertures therein and a groove around the outside thereof into whichsaid apertures open, and said one way valve means comprises a band ofresilient material in said groove and covering the ends of saidapertures.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensing means is anaerosol type dispenser, comprising a subassembly comprising a valveassembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through said valvebody in a direction axially of said stern, said valve assembly having aproduct flow path therethrough and a propellant flow path therethrough,part of one of said flow paths being through said hollow stem andobturating means operatively associated with said stem for obturatingsaid flow paths, said valve body having two opening out of the bottomthereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller cross section upperportion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagement with said valveassembly at one of said openings and having a larger cross section lowerportion, the

outer periphery of which has substantially the same dimensions as theouter periphery of said valve body in said valve assembly, said lowerportion of said propellant cartridge and said valve body definingbetween them a space, a flexible collapsible product containing sac insaid space having a discharge outlet in sealing engagement around theother of said openings in said valve body, and a housing around saidvalve body, said propellant cartridge and said sac and having anaperture therein opening into said space, the interior of said housinghaving a cross section substantially the same as said valve body andsaid larger cross section lower portion of said propellant cartridge andengaged with said valve body of said said propellant cartridge lowerportion for holding said valve body, said propellant cartridge and saidsac in the recited relationship, and a Venturi nozzle assembly having aVenturi nozzle with a Venturi therethrough and product passages openinginto the Venturi and means defining a product supply chamber around saidVenturi nozzle from which said product passages extend into the Venturi,said assembly having openings into said Venturi and said product supplychamber aligned with the flow paths from the propellant cartridge andfrom said sac at the upper end of said valve assembly, said dispenserbeing positioned within said cylinder with said Venturi nozzle assemblyengaged with said article holder and opening into the interior of saidarticle holder and said cylinder having means on the end thereofengaging said dispenser at the end of the relative movement of saidcylinder and said article holder for actuating said dispenser.

1. A device for infusing an article with a gaseous substance, comprisingan article holder having a hollow interior adapted to hold an article tobe infused, the exterior surface of said article holder beingcylindrical, a piston head on one end of said article holder, a cylinderslidable on said piston head and having an annular piston thereon havingan internal periphery complementary in shape to and in slidingengagement with said cylindrical surface of said article holder to forman expanding chamber between said article holder and said cylinder whensaid article holder and cylinder are telescoped, said article holderhaving passages formed therein between the interior of said articleholder and said expanding chamber, a dispensing means for dispensing agaseous substance with which the article is to be infused, saiddispensing means being actuable to carry out dispensing, said dispensingmeans being engaged with said article holder and opening into saidarticle holder and engaged by said cylinder and actuated when saidarticle holder and said cylinder have been moved relative to each otherto expand said expandable chamber to produce a vacuum within theinterior of said article holder.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 inwhich said dispensing means is an aerosol type dispenser having amovable valve stem, said stem being engaged with said article holder andthe remainder of said dispenser being engaged by said cylinder at theend of the cylinder movement relative to the article holder to move theremainder of the dispenser relative to the stem for causing thedispensing from the dispenser.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 2 inwhich said valve stem is movable axially of said dispenser; and saiddispenser is positioned within said cylinder, said cylinder having meanson the end thereof remote from the article holder for engaging thedispenser and moving it toward said article holder relative to saidvalve stem at the end of the cylinder movement.
 4. A device as claimedin claim 3 in which said cylinder is threaded onto said annular pistonwhereby it can be removed from said piston head for replacement of saiddispenser.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said passagesbetween said expanding chamber and the interior of said article holderare adjacent said piston head, and valve means in said passages areactuated when said dispensing means is actuated for blocking off saidpassages.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which said valve means isa valve rod slidable in said article holder, said valve rod projectingout of said article holder and engageable by said dispensing means to bemoved into said article holder when said dispensing means is actuated.7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said passages between theexpanding chamber and the interior of said article holder are at the endof said article holder remote from said piston head and just at the endof the expanding chamber when said dispensing means is actuated, andsaid cylinder has one way valve means therein adjacent said annularpiston.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 7 in which said cylinder has aplurality of apertures therein and a groove around the outside thereofinto which said apertures open, and said one way valve means comprises aband of resilient material in said groove and covering the ends of saidapertures.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said dispensingmeans is an aerosol type dispenser, comprising a subassembly comprisinga valve assembly having a valve body, a hollow stem movable through saidvalve body in a direction axially of said stem, said valve assemblyhaving a product flow path therethrough and a Propellant flow paththerethrough, part of one of said flow paths being through said hollowstem and obturating means operatively associated with said stem forobturating said flow paths, said valve body having two opening out ofthe bottom thereof, a propellant cartridge having a smaller crosssection upper portion with the upper end thereof in sealing engagementwith said valve assembly at one of said openings and having a largercross section lower portion, the outer periphery of which hassubstantially the same dimensions as the outer periphery of said valvebody in said valve assembly, said lower portion of said propellantcartridge and said valve body defining between them a space, a flexiblecollapsible product containing sac in said space having a dischargeoutlet in sealing engagement around the other of said openings in saidvalve body, and a housing around said valve body, said propellantcartridge and said sac and having an aperture therein opening into saidspace, the interior of said housing having a cross section substantiallythe same as said valve body and said larger cross section lower portionof said propellant cartridge and engaged with said valve body of saidpropellant cartridge lower portion for holding said valve body, saidpropellant cartridge and said sac in the recited relationship, and aVenturi nozzle assembly having a Venturi nozzle with a Venturitherethrough and product passages opening into the Venturi and meansdefining a product supply chamber around said Venturi nozzle from whichsaid product passages extend into the Venturi, said assembly havingopenings into said Venturi and said product supply chamber aligned withthe flow paths from the propellant cartridge and from said sac at theupper end of said valve assembly, said dispenser being positioned withinsaid cylinder with said Venturi nozzle assembly engaged with saidarticle holder and opening into the interior of said article holder andsaid cylinder having means on the end thereof engaging said dispenser atthe end of the relative movement of said cylinder and said articleholder for actuating said dispenser.